NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Waskom, TX
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
15 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Waskom, Texas since 1851, 1 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Laura in 2020. Since 1950, 195 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 14 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 1
- Tropical storms
- 14
- Tornadoes
- 195
- EF3 or stronger
- 14
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
32 deaths in all
What the records show for Waskom
The strongest storm to pass near Waskom was Laura in 2020, a Category 1 hurricane with 75 mph winds when its centre passed 63 miles away. The record near Waskom begins with an unnamed storm in 1865; the most recent system was Laura in 2020. The busiest decade was the 1940s, with 4 systems. Of the 15 systems, 5 have come since 2000. Waskom has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 56% of the 753 Texas cities on this site. The highest rating among the 195 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 3, 1999, came within 16 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on February 12, 1950, killed 18 people. Of the 195, 18 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 89 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 53. The most recent tornado was on September 24, 2025. Waskom has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 90% of the 753 Texas cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 121 times since 1968, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Waskom has more hail reports within 10 miles than 70% of the 753 Texas cities.
Compare Waskom's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Waskom
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | LauraAug 27 | 63 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2019 | BarryJul 14 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 2017 | CindyJun 22 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2008 | IkeSep 13 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2005 | RitaSep 24 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormOct 5 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1947 | Unnamed 1947 stormSep 20 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 24 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1940 | Unnamed 1940 stormAug 9 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1920 | Unnamed 1920 stormSep 22 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1918 | Unnamed 1918 stormAug 7 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1891 | Unnamed 1891 stormJul 6 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormOct 13 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1879 | Unnamed 1879 stormAug 23 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1865 | Unnamed 1865 stormSep 14 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 2 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Waskom: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Waskom
By decade
- 2020s28
- 2010s41(1 EF3+)
- 2000s20(1 EF3+)
- 1990s36(1 EF3+)
- 1980s24(4 EF3+)
- 1970s9(2 EF3+)
- 1960s22(2 EF3+)
- 1950s15(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 12, 1950 | F4 | 22 mi | 82.6 mi | 18 / 77 |
| Apr 3, 1999 | F4 | 16 mi | 19.3 mi | 7 / 102 |
| Dec 3, 1978 | F4 | 20 mi | 6.2 mi | 2 / 266 |
| Nov 15, 1987 | F3 | 17 mi | 48 mi | 1 / 116 |
| Jan 20, 2010 | EF3 | 2 mi | 15.56 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 2000 | F3 | 4 mi | 32.5 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 2, 1984 | F3 | 14 mi | 61 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Apr 25, 1982 | F3 | 18 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 25, 1982 | F3 | 18 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 22, 1972 | F3 | 11 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Feb 11, 1965 | F3 | 17 mi | 33 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 24, 1964 | F3 | 5 mi | 20.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 195, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Waskom
The Storm Prediction Center has 121 hail reports within 10 miles of Waskom since 1968, made on 92 separate days. Of these, 79 were 1 inch across or larger, and 10 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on April 23, 2000. The most recent report is from May 6, 2025. April has the most reports, 31.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Waskom
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Marshall, TX, 14 miles west of Waskom at 302 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 94°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 57°F and 33°F. March is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 3.1 inches; the year adds up to 51.6 inches over 67 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 47% of the year's precipitation (24.0 of 51.6 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 15 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 88°F and 3.5 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 83 days a year, almost all from May to October. Lows fall below freezing on about 39 nights a year. Snowfall averages 0.8 inches a year, most of it in February. That 51.6 inches is more than at 286 of the 312 Texas stations used on this site (92%). Greenwood, LA, 6 miles east, has its own station (Shreveport WFO, LA): 52.9 inches a year, 1.3 more than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 94°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 57 | 33 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.3 |
| Feb | 62 | 37 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.4 |
| Mar | 69 | 44 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Apr | 76 | 51 | 4.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 83 | 60 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 90 | 68 | 4.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 94 | 71 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 94 | 70 | 3.1 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 88 | 64 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 78 | 52 | 4.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 67 | 42 | 4.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 59 | 35 | 4.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Year | 76 | 52 | 51.6 | 67 | 0.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Marshall, TX (302 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Waskom
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 121 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Waskom: 83 thunderstorm wind reports, 32 flash floods, 4 lightning strikes and 2 floods. They killed 2 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $11.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on May 24, 2015. May has had the most flash floods, 9 of 32. Of the 745 Texas cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 580 have had fewer than Waskom.
July 4, 2011: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Waskom — 2 killed, $50,000 damage.
July 16, 2023: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Waskom — 1 injured.
May 14, 2008: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Waskom — $7.0 million damage.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Harrison County, which includes Waskom, has been named in 28 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1966, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 hurricanes, 6 fires, 4 floods, 4 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Beryl, on July 9, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Harrison County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes; Relatively Moderate for hail, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $28.7 million a year, the 66th highest of 254 Texas counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.7 million (27%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.